Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Claire Loftus with President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina at the reception at Aras an Uachtarain for over 200 women leaders from across Ireland to mark International Women’s Day (Image: Collins Photos)

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) reversed a decision not to prosecute eight cases last year, it has emerged.

The annual report of the office of the DPP for 2017 was published today.

It states that of the 219 requests for a review of a decision not to prosecute, the DPP upheld 190 and overturned eight, with 19 being considered invalid and two that are still pending. A majority of the requests fell under the sexual offences category.

It also revealed that:

The Prosecution Service cost €40.9m to run in 2017

There are 195 staff working in the Office of the DPP

13,666 prosecution files were received in 2017

66% of cases had a decision made on them within four weeks

A 94% overall conviction rate was maintained

There were 638 requests for decisions not to prosecute

€988,297 was recovered from the proceeds of crime and returned to public funds

In her foreword, DPP Claire Loftus said that "the volume of work involved in dealing with victims is significant".

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She added: "The Office receives a large number of requests for reasons for the decision not to prosecute and dealt with 638 such requests in 2017. Nearly 40% of these requests related to sexual offence complaints.

"The Office dealt with nearly 200 requests for a review of the decision not to prosecute. In eight of those cases the decision was reversed and a prosecution directed.

"Again just over 40% of the cases where a review was sought involved sexual offences.

"As these figures illustrate, the volume of work involved in dealing with victims is significant.

"There are additional demands on resources where cases are prosecuted and charges are being processed through the courts, especially at trial stage.

"We take our obligations to victims and their families very seriously.

"We are continuing to review the resources required to ensure victims and their families have the least traumatic experience possible of the criminal justice system."

The large majority (80%) of the reasons given not to prosecute cases by the DPP in 2017 were a lack of evidence.

Others included the public interest, an injured party withdrawing a complaint and the time limit expiring.

A breakdown of the main reasons a decision was taken by the DPP to not prosecute a case in 2017

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The total number of files disposed of by the DPP last year came to 11,415, with a further 84 still under consideration.

Ms Loftus said that there has been "considerable pressure on resources" in her office, including international work such as extradition, as net costs have risen from €38.6m in 2016 to just under €41m last year. €16.4m of this went to fees for prosecuting Counsel.

She said that while trials relating to the banking crisis were large and lengthy, the increase was mostly down to "increased activity levels in both the Dublin Circuit Court and the Central Criminal Court".

Ms Loftus added: "The overall volume of trials now being dealt with before the courts at all levels means that there will be a need for at least the current allocation for Counsel’s fees to be provided in 2019."

She also mentioned that "the number of requests for evidence abroad processed by the Office doubled in 2017 as compared to 2015" and that in the International Unit, "stretched staff resources resulted in a backlog developing in 2017, most noticeably in the area of applications for European Arrest Warrants".

Ms Loftus added that Brexit "has very serious implications for the prosecution of crime and criminal justice generally in this country".

She said it is "crucial that an agreement is reached on an alternative system prior to (the Brexit) date" and that it "is particularly important having regard to the shared border with Northern Ireland, and the ongoing necessity for prosecutions in respect of dissident subversive activity".